Semi-weekly south Kentuckian., 1887-01-04
TOWERS OF SILENCE"
Malabar Hill and Parsee Homes of
the Dead.
The Five Cylinders OF Black Granite
Used For Those Worthy of Sacred
iurIai-A square Tower set
Apart for Criminals.

IiurIal-A square Tower set
Apart for Criminals.
One must bc born Parsce, for, like
the Brahmin, his sacred faith admits OF
no prosclyting. On purity as the found
atien-stone is built the superstructure
Of his belief, aud Zoroaster's three
preecTts, good thoughts" good
words. good deeds" are his rule
Of life. That he may be constantly re-
minded of his duty 10 move within the
circle of these precepts, he wears his
girdle triply coiled. A Parsee child
should be born ON the ground floor OF
the house, that by humility at the be-
ginning and correctness of aftcr-lifc he
may merit advancement, not only in
this world, but in that which is To
come.
When seven days old an asirologcr is
called upon to east his nativity. He
first gives q list Of names that the child
may bear, and allows the parents to
choose one Of them: then drawing Il set
Of hicroglyphics with chalk on a wooden
tablet, he predicts the future of the
infant, which the relatives receive with
implicit faith and admiring reverence.
This document is carefully preserved
among the family records, and often
has marked influence on the after
life. Having attained the age of abOnt
seven years, the first religions cere-
mony is performed. which makes the
child an accountable being, and brings
him into full fellowship OF tho faith Of
his fathers. The ceremony begins with
an abution for puriiicaiion. The priest
then invests him with the sacred girdle.
and tying the cord around tho waist,
he pronounces u bcnediction, and
throws slices Of fruit, seeds. perfumes
and spices upon the head. This kusti,
or sacred cord, Is woven only by women
OF the priestly class. and is composed
ot seventy-iRO white cotton threads,
the number embicniatic Of the seventy
two chapters Of tbe Yasna, n portion
of the Zend-Avesta. Should the child
die before the performance of this cere-
mony his soul is supposed to return to
Ahura Mazda, from whom il came, as
pure as when it entered the world,
not having yet reached the age Of moral
accountability.
Childhood is the usual time of mar
riage, though it is sometimes con-
tractcd beetwen grOwn-up people.
TO the parents Of the bride and groom,
who make all arrangements, the event
Is one of absorbing interest, aud is at
tended with much ceremony and dis
play. The Parsee women hold an hon
orable position; they are allowed to
appear IN public, to mingle in society
and 10 them is given full charge of
household ailairs.
Running out into the sea from the
western part Of Bombay Island rises
Malabar hill, picturesque ridge, ter
raced TO the TOP, and covered with trop-
ical trees and shrubs aud flowers,
among which are Scattered the Mxuri-
0us homes of the more wealthy resi-
dents OF the city. both Indian and Euro
pcm. The summit Of this hill COM
inands view Of surprising beauty.
At its foot, on the right, lies the sea-
sitc village oi Breach Candy; on the
left the city Of Bombay, with Its beau
tiful bay aud lhrbor studded with rocky
islands, the due water of the Arabian
sen wideningout in the distance on one
side and The range of the Western
Ghuuts risijg on the other, towering
grandly TO tic height of six thousand
feet aud stretching along the line of tho
mainland coast as far as the eye can
reach.
There, IN the midst of garden Of
lovelincss, where the silence seems sa-
cred and every suggestion is one of
peaceful the Pnrsees havo erected
their Sagris, OF Houses of Prayer. aud
the Towers Of Silence in which they lay
their dead. In the largest Sagrl, with
religious ceremony, they kindled years
ago the sacred fire. which, being con-
stantly fed with incense and fragrant
wood, is never allowed to go out
The Parsees emphatically deny the
common imputation that they worship
fire, declaring that they hold it sacred.
not as God, but only as symbol of
deity. Ioroaster taught hat earth,
air and water should never be deiilcd
by contact with putrefying flesh. but
that the dccaying particles OF our bod
les should be dissipated MS rapidly as
possible in such way that neither
Mother Earth nor the beings she nour-
ishes should be in the slightest degree
contaminated. " 70 the Dokhmas scarce
~ belongs the name of towers, sopecu-
liar are their proportions. Built OF
black granite and covered with white
chunnm Ga stucco made of calcincd
shells), they CLEAN among the luNlri.
ant foliage like huge white cylinders on
solid masonry. The largest Of the five
is about forty feet in diameter, and not
more than twenty-five in height. The
smallest and oldest was built by an an
cestorof the Modi family moro than two
hundred years ago. whom the Parsecs
first settled in Bombay, aud has been
used only by his descendants. The soc
ond was erected in 1896, and the re-
naming thrce at intervals during the
following century.
Standing quite apart from the Others
is sixth square tower, and here are
brought the bodies OF criminals. ostr7l-
cized in death as In life, for their bones
must not bc allowed TO touch those ol
good men.
On the iron gates which guard the
entrance TO the garden Is notice that
only Parsees are allowed to enter the
sacred precincts. Could we pass be,
yond the gates and approach one Of
the towers, We should find it 70 consist
of solid masonry for some twelve OF
fifteen feet from the grcimd- solid
save in the center whore q well six
feet in diameter leads down to subter.
ranean chambers beneath the stone,